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ex-wife, while the lovely brunette shook her head in pity. Groaning, Lucy bolted into her house, just making it to the bathroom before she threw up.
    ****
    Nick looked around in disbelief. The party had broken up an hour ago, and his house and yard were strewn with dirty napkins, crumpled paper plates, and leftovers. Half his family was in all probability not speaking to him, and just before the party broke up, the atmosphere had been simmering with animosity so badly he’d insisted he could clear up by himself. His relationship with Olivia was over.
    He grabbed a large garbage sack and began to pick up the yard, scenes of the recent turmoil he’d just suffered through running through his brain.
    “Who was that?” Olivia asked, after Lucy went brushing rudely past her.
    He’d opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Angie had appeared, looking accusingly at him. “Where’s Lucy? What did you say to her?”
    The doorbell rang again, as parents began to arrive to pick up their hyped-up, cake-smeared offspring.
    “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Olivia,” Nick said, in between arriving parents.
    His family greeted her without enthusiasm.
    “Sorry I’m so late,” she said. “I guess I’ve missed the party.”
    “Where’s Aunt Lucy?” Kieran demanded, staring at Olivia rudely.
    “Sshh, honey, she went back next door,” Angie said. “Later we’ll go and say thank you for the cake.”
    Olivia frowned. “Who’s Aunt Lucy?”
    “She—she’s my ex-wife,” Nick admitted.
    A silence fell.
    “Sweetie, I’m going to get a start on tidying up the kitchen.” Sylvia headed off, grabbing Nick’s dad.
    “Your ex-wife lives next door?” Olivia looked at him.
    “Aunt Lucy made me a birthday cake, and it looked like a school bus!” Kieran said. “And I was in the school bus, wasn’t I, Mommy?”
    “It’s complicated,” Nick said.
    Olivia nodded slowly, looking at him appraisingly. “Yes, a little too complicated for me, I think. I shouldn’t have come here. Goodbye, Nick.”
    “I’ll call you,” he said, as she opened the door.
    She shook her head. “No. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I think you’ve got a lot more baggage than you’ve let on. I don’t want to get involved.”
    He stared after her as she walked away, then turned around to see Angie, Mark, and Kieran staring. “Thanks a lot, guys!”
    “Hey, we didn’t do anything.” Angie planted her hands on her hips. “What did you say to Lucy after you followed her into the house?”
    “If you must know, I found her snooping around upstairs. She was in my office.”
    “Oh, my God,” Sylvia said softly from the kitchen doorway. “She must have been devastated.”
    “You have to go and talk to her,” Angie said.
    “Why?” Nick felt like exploding. “I think I have every right to redecorate my own house.”
    His sister shook her head. “Just listen to yourself.”
    “What the hell do you all want me to do?” he yelled. “Turn this place into a goddamn shrine?”
    Rosie, his tiny niece, woke up from her nap and began to scream, terrified by the anger in his voice. Angie picked up the baby and glared at him.
    “Nick,” Mark said. “Nobody expects you to turn your house into a shrine, but at some point you are going to need to address your feelings.”
    Rosie’s desperate sobs turned to hiccups and something splintered inside Nick as he stared at her tiny face, at her huge, confused blue eyes spilling tears down her pillowy cheeks.
    “I’d like you all to leave now,” he said.
    “Don’t be silly,” Sylvia said. “We’re going to stay and help you clean up.”
    “Please, Mom,” he said, his voice almost breaking.
    Mark and Tom began to gather up belongings and usher everyone out. His family left quietly, his mother giving him a brief, wordless hug before she stepped out of the door.
    Now Nick picked up trash, thrusting it into a garbage sack, then tying it off and dumping it in the garage. He mopped